Scholz Visits Magdeburg Attack Site, Vows: “We Will Respond with the Full Force of the Law”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned the attack at a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg, describing it as a “horrible catastrophe” and a “heinous and brutal crime.”

Scholz expressed concern for the approximately 40 people who sustained serious injuries during the car-ramming incident. During his visit to the attack site today (Saturday), he said, “We will not yield to those who seek to spread hatred.” Scholz added, “What a terrible act for so many people to be injured and killed with such brutality. Nearly 40 people have been seriously injured, and we are deeply worried for them.”

The chancellor urged the nation to unite against hate, stating, “We will respond with the full force of the law,” according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt, Reiner Haseloff, announced on Saturday that the death toll had risen to five, with over 200 injured. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser ordered flags at federal buildings nationwide to be flown at half-mast in mourning for the victims.

Faeser also stated that the driver of the vehicle, who rammed into the crowd, was a Saudi doctor “hostile to Islam.” Accompanying Scholz to the disaster site, Faeser responded to reporters’ questions about the attacker’s motives, saying, “The only thing we can confirm at this time is that he was hostile to Islam,” based on his expressed views.

The car struck a crowd at the Christmas market in the capital of Saxony-Anhalt last evening. The police arrested the suspect, a 50-year-old physician residing in Bernburg, Germany, since 2006, who describes himself as a former Muslim.